


If It Should Come to Pass

by melissa286



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Original Trilogy, Star Wars: Rebellion Era - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Angst with a Happy Ending, Brotherly Love, Discussion of Abortion, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/M, Family, Family Drama, Fear of Discovery, Forgiveness, Guilt, Love Conquers All, Mutual Pining, Pining, Pregnancy, Romance, Sibling Incest, The Force, Twincest, Unplanned Pregnancy, Yes Even That
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-12
Updated: 2019-12-12
Packaged: 2021-01-15 07:24:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,984
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21249617
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/melissa286/pseuds/melissa286
Summary: A month after the battle of Endor, Princess Leia finds herself pregnant, confused, scared, and unsure of her future. The only person in the Galaxy she can confide in is her twin brother, Luke Skywalker. Not only is he the only one who understands her and her fears of the Skywalker bloodline, he is the only one who understands the unique circumstances of the conception.This is AU/Canon-Divergent because I’m pretty sure this time period is covered in books, comics, and/or other non-movie materials. Also, we all know there are places Lucasfilm and Disney are never going to go, but us weirdos rush in where angels fear to tread.





	1. I'm here

**Author's Note:**

> This is the first prose I’ve written in many years, and the first Star Wars fanfiction I‘ve ever written. I’ve rushed it out without the number of proofreading/editing passes I would normally do, because I was afraid if I lingered too long over it I would never put it out there. It’s not going to be long, but I found I couldn’t make myself do it as a one-shot as originally planned. Maybe someday I’ll edit it down. Hope somebody enjoys it!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for your kudos and comments! I've worked up the nerve to reread the story, which led me to fixing some mistakes and all the weird italics in Chapter 3. (Maybe if I didn't use so many italics to begin with, but that's another thing for another day.)

It had been a month or so since Endor. After the celebrations had died down, it had truly sunk in to the excited but exhausted Rebels just how much more of a beginning this was than an ending. The Empire was all but over, but how much work those two words, “all but” would contain, seemed to be anybody’s guess.

What this had meant for Commander Luke Skywalker was no shortage of missions to keep him away from Rebel HQ. And he volunteered for every one he could get: every long-range probe, every reconnaissance sweep, every deep-space pursuit of Imperial stragglers – everything he could get to put distance between himself and the two people in the galaxy he loved the most. Leia and Han needed time together to navigate their new relationship, and Luke needed time to figure out what loving Leia as a sister, and only a sister, felt like. Keeping his days filled with devil-may-care flying, dogged combat, strategic negotiations, and introspective Jedi meditation, had mostly kept his sleep periods free of the fitful dreams that had haunted him for the past year, and even more so in the nights since the deaths of Yoda and his father.

Returning to Headquarters now would be a test of his newfound equilibrium. But he could hardly stay away indefinitely. When he saw the familiar golden form of C-3PO approaching his X-Wing as he extricated himself from the cockpit, he felt nothing but pleasure at the sight of his old friend. He pulled off his helmet, tossed it into his seat, and jumped nimbly down to the floor of the hangar bay.

“Master Luke!” cried the slender protocol droid, raising his hands in greeting. “Master Luke, how good to see you again! And looking so well, if I may say so.”

“Thanks, Threepio,” replied Luke with a broad grin, “It’s great to see you, too. How’ve you been?”

“Oh, as well as can be expected, under the circumstances. There’s no use complaining.” Luke briefly looked away to hide a momentary chuckle. No matter how good the “circumstances” were, he knew the droid would always exist in a state of low-level distress. It was both maddening and endearing, depending on how long you had to spend in his company.

“And R2-D2! I see you’ve managed to survive another mission, although I don’t know how you keep yourself in one piece with the risks you take.” Threepio fussed over the squat astromech droid as he was lowered out of his compartment in the rear of Luke’s fighter ship. “I swear, one of these days they’re going to bring you back in a waste bin, and then where will you be? I’m sure I don’t know.” His anxious lecture was met with a series of chirps and beeps from Artoo, which Luke could have sworn carried a decidedly cheeky tone. 

“Well, if you fellas don’t need me for anything…” Luke gestured toward the doors that led to the inner complex with one hand while beginning to unfasten his orange flight suit with the other.

“Oh, I nearly forgot!” exclaimed C-3PO, snapping back to attention. “I'd forget my faceplate if it wasn't riveted to my cranial unit! Mistress Leia sent me to greet you as soon as you landed. She requests that you meet her at your very earliest convenience.”

Luke felt a moment of un-Jedi-like pride at his level of Jedi-like calm, a contradiction he didn’t pause too long to question. Then he realized he had gone quiet for a few uncomfortable seconds, his hand frozen at his suit’s opening.

“Sure, Threepio,” he nodded. “I should drop off my report with Command, and then I’ll find her. Did she say where?”

“Her personal quarters in Section 3-B. I would be most happy to conduct you, if…”

“No!” Luke interrupted, a little more loudly and abruptly than he'd intended. “No, thanks, I’m sure I can find my way.”

As if he could miss her presence in the Force. Since learning of their connection, he had marveled at how blind he had been before not to notice her bright flame whenever he reached out with his senses. It had been too easy to blame it on other feelings, he supposed. There was a flickering of something unusual there now – some worry or other strong emotion. It wasn’t surprising, probably, if she had been waiting for his arrival. He hurried to the command center to file his report, with only half his mind on the task at hand.

He wasn’t sure how much later it was that he found himself standing in front of her door in Section 3-B. He’d filed his report, but the officer in charge had had a seemingly endless series of follow-up questions, each answer apparently requiring its _own_ follow-up questions. Then, after catching a glimpse of his reflection in a polished durasteel wall panel, he’d decided whatever conversation Leia had in mind would go better if he looked and smelled a bit less like he’d been stuffed in the cockpit of a one-man craft for a week. Locating Rogue Squadron’s assigned quarters in this unfamiliar complex had been simple enough, but it had also involved running into a lot of old friends and comrades and exchanging a lot of greetings. He’d located a fresh uniform, taken a quick sonic shower, and gratefully gulped down the cup of terrible reheated caf a junior pilot handed him before deciding he’d dawdled enough.

He was just raising his hand to press the door chime when it whooshed open. His eyes widened in astonishment. Had she sensed his presence? Had she been exploring her Force powers on her own? He was drawing breath to ask the first of a million questions when he saw her.

His heart skipped a beat, as always, and the breath caught in his throat. Time and distance had helped, but had not completely erased that electric jolt he’d experienced every time he’d seen her since that prison cell on the first Death Star, when she’d sat up from her metal bunk and said…

“Where in _hell_ have you been, you karking moof-milker?”

Luke was jerked back to the present day. Leia was standing on the other side of the door, her small arms crossed across her chest, her chin jutted up at him, and her dark brows knitted in irritation.

“I had to…”

“You’ve been on base nearly two hours, Skywalker,” she barked. “If you’re trying to avoid me, you’ve picked a piss-poor place to do it. Get in here.” She stood aside as he stepped warily past her into the room, the door hissing shut behind him.

“Leia, I…” Before he could finish his sentence, which he had no idea how he was going to finish, he was wrapped in the tight embrace of the diminutive Princess, her cheek pressed against his collarbone. Of their own volition, without his even thinking, his own arms surrounded her and pulled her firmly to him, holding on as if for dear life. “_Leia._”

“Oh, _Luke,_” she said in something between a sigh and a sob, “I don’t know what to do.”

That handful of words froze both his mind and body. Never, in the years he’d known Leia Organa, had he ever imagined her not knowing what to do about something. Or admitting it if she didn’t. All he could think to say was: 

_“I’m here.”_


	2. I Won't

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It takes Leia a little while to get to the point. Tea is made.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I guess this is going to be a little longer than I thought. Maybe concise is just something that happens to other people.

"Have you eaten? You haven't eaten. Are you hungry? Of course you're hungry. You're always hungry. I'm hungry. You're too thin," She exhaled all her words in one breath as she released him.

"I could eat," he managed, with a small smile. He felt the need to compensate for her agitation with an extra dose of calm, to keep this new, uneasy balance between them. She led him to a table in the corner which, judging from the pile of datapads on the desk, had recently been hastily cleared. There was a tea service and hot-water kettle, and a plate of the slightly-sweet, citrus-tinged yeast rolls that had been standard issue at morning meetings in the Rebel Alliance for as long as either of them could remember. Important occasions might find a light dusting of powdered sugar across the top.

"This must be a party," said Luke, as Leia pressed the button on the kettle.

"What?" She looked up, nearly dropping the teapot's lid as she removed it.

"Sugar on the rolls," he pointed out. "Why don't you let me finish the tea? If I spill the hot water, I'm not going to scald my hand." He smiled and wiggled the fingers of his prosthetic hand in front of his face.

"You shouldn't make jokes like that," she scolded, but sat down and waved her own hand vaguely in the direction of the pot and kettle, which was already steaming and hissing like a volcano. "It's all measured out."

He watched her from under his lashes as he poured the water carefully into the pot. He knew better than to come right out and ask what had put her in such a state of discomposure... or to come right out and accuse her of discomposure in the first place. It was ridiculous, though; in the old days, there had never been this kind of hesitation between them, no topic too tender to broach, no walls of caution. How ironic that the revelation that should have brought them even closer together had somehow put this distance between them.

"So," he began, a bit too brightly, as he sat and let the tea begin to steep. "Where's Han? I was hoping he'd be around, but I saw the Falcon wasn't in dock."

"No," replied the Princess in clipped tones, in the general direction of her lap. "_General Solo_ volunteered for a reconnaissance mission in the Zeldan system, getting intel on a possible hidden Imperial holdout base. He'll be gone for a while."

"And you didn't go with him," observed Luke, putting a roll each on two small plates. _Oh, smooth, Skywalker. Scintillating conversation. Why don't you try an insightful observation about the wetness of water, or remark how well the law of gravity is working today?_

"No." She ran a dainty finger over the top of her roll and licked off the excess sugar. "That was kind of the point. He needed a little time away."

"Well, you know Han," Luke chuckled. "And you know you. And you know, you know..." he shrugged and waved his hands, "...the two of you. You have your disagreements, your differences; that's one of the things you love about each other." He bit into his roll. Slightly stale, as usual. Probably left over from 0600 briefing. He didn't mind. 

"Yes, I know," she sighed. "He thought... he thought we were going to ride off into the sunset together. Back into private life. Live for... I don't know, _ourselves, _ or something. Each other. It's a lovely idea, but I can't just walk away when there's so much rebuilding left to do. Neither can he. He knows that!"

He reached across the corner of the table and squeezed her hand. "Of course he does. He just needs to figure it out for himself. And he will. You told me once, he has to find his own path. And he is. I mean, he's doing this mission for the Rebellion, isn't he?" 

"Certainly. Spiting me is just the icing on the cake."

The absurdity of the fact that he was playing couples' counselor for the woman he loved and his best friend - who also happened to be the man he loved as a brother and the woman who had somehow become his sister - flashed across Luke's mind. But the feeling that this was a distraction from the real issue ran deeper than that. Leia would never have summoned him to her simply to cry on his shoulder. Especially not about trouble with Han; that would have been deliberately cruel given all they had shared, and that simply wasn't possible. No, this was something far more serious; the longer they were together the more he could sense real fear from his twin, no matter how she tried to hide it.

"Leia, look at me," he said softly. Dark brown eyes rose to meet bright blue. "Leia, what's really wrong? Tell me. Forget all this and just talk to me." He took her other hand and held them both between them.

"Luke, I'm pregnant," she said, in a small voice. "I know it's stupid and ridiculous, but the last few months have been so crazy and unpredictable for all of us, and regular medical care has just kind of gone out the window..."

"Leia, that's wonderful!" Beaming, he leaned forward and kissed her cheek. "I mean, isn't it? You're healthy, aren't you? And you and Han will make wonderful parents. Your baby will be the most beautiful child in the galaxy. I'm so happy for you."

"No, Luke, I don't think you understand," she interrupted, letting go of his hands and holding her own palms-forward. "The preliminary tests I took are definite, but they're only for yes or no. They're not for how long or when."

Luke's mouth suddenly went as dry as the Jundland Wastes. Now it all made sense - the fear, the reason she couldn't talk to anyone else. He drew a deep, calming breath.

"Yes or no. Not how long, when... _or who._"

She broke the silence with the clink of cups and saucers. Her hands weren't completely steady, but years of training in court etiquette managed to see her through pouring two cups of tea without spilling a drop. She added one level spoonful of sugar to her own and two to Luke's before taking a long, deep drink and chewing and swallowing a large bite of her roll. "I needed that," she sighed. "I forgot how hungry I was."

"The child you're carrying could be mine," Luke stated, as evenly as he could manage.

"Yes."

"Oh, Leia. Oh, no." He took her face in his left hand - no matter how much a part of him it had become, the artificial hand seemed somehow insufficient to the purpose. "I'm so sorry."

"I'm not," she replied firmly, tipping her head to plant a soft kiss on his palm. "No matter what happens, no matter how many more Jedi and Sith lies we uncover, no matter how much it may hurt, I can never, ever regret what happened on Tatooine. What we were to each other. We _needed_ each other. It was good. It was _right._ It came from our love, and _don't you dare be sorry_." She leaned forward and kissed his forehead. They embraced tightly, breathing each other in, faces buried in each other's hair. 

"But I'm still sorry you're the one who has to deal with the aftermath," he murmured in her ear after a few long, quiet minutes had gone by. "_I_ could just walk away."

"But you won't," she whispered.

"No, I won't."


	3. The Mysteries of the Universe, Both Large and Small

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Leia gets to the point, and they talk about it. A lot.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I got on a roll and decided to forge ahead tonight.

"Do you want me to come with you?" he asked. "I have time coming, and I can stay put as long as you need." 

"Come where with me?" She frowned. 

"For the rest of the tests. We could go right now. Or, if you don't want to have them here, it's safe to travel pretty much anywhere now. Well, within reason. We could have them done privately. I'm sure you could get the time..." 

"No, no," she interjected, pulling away again. She stood up, turned away, then took a step to stand behind her chair. She faced him, gripping the chair back until her knuckles turned white. "There isn't any point." 

"No point?" He stood, carefully pushing his chair back with a calm he didn't feel. He placed what he hoped was a soothing hand on Leia's shoulder. "Leia, don't assume the worst. You can't make any decisions without knowing all the facts. It might not..." 

_"Assume the worst?"_ She looked at him, wide-eyed. "You think I'm scared because it _might_ be _yours?_ Luke, I'm scared because I _know_ it's _mine!_ It doesn't matter who the father is; the mother is all wrong! I can't... I don't think I can have this child. Dear gods!" She let go of the chair and began to pace. 

He led her to the edge of the narrow, neatly-made bunk and pulled her down beside him. He drew her head to his shoulder and rested his own against it, wrapping his arm around her waist. She had always been the one to comfort _him:_ after the death of Obi-Wan, after his maiming and devastation at Bespin, after the funeral pyre on Endor. She had been the strong one, taking over her own rescue from the Death Star and delivering herself from the clutches of Jabba the Hutt. Although he couldn't deny that it felt good and right to be able to comfort her now, it shook him to the core that she needed him in this way. 

"Of course I'll support and help you no matter what you decide," he began slowly, "but I don't think you've decided yet, or you wouldn't have waited to talk to me first. And if all you need me to do is listen, I can do that, too." 

"Why do you have to be so kriffing _nice?_ Especially now?" she muttered into his shoulder. 

"I'm saving up for a really big, loud, nasty tantrum later." That earned him a swat across the chest. 

"I know..." She faltered. "I know it's never the right time to have a child when your life is in public service. My parents wanted me desperately, and I never felt unloved, but I still spent a lot of time in the care of child minders. There's nothing inherently wrong with that, even though I know they wished they'd had more time to spend with me. I'm not worried about that." 

"At least we both had that, if not each other," Luke sighed. "The birth rate among humans on Tatooine is really low, and the infant mortality rate is high, even for the Outer Rim. Children are _always_ welcome, even though parents tend to be strict. As much bad blood as there was between my uncle and my... well, I always knew I was loved, and wanted. Even when I was spending every waking minute trying to get away." 

Leia went very still in his embrace. "You can say his name, you know. You can't protect me from that. Don't you think he's _here,_ in this room with us, right now? _He's_ the reason I can't have this child. Any child. _Vader's grandchild!_" Luke sat up straight and turned toward her, lightly taking her elbows in his hands. "Leia..." 

"Luke, if this was your child with any other woman, I would fight to the death to protect it until it was born," she insisted. "Han's, too, but I need _you_ to understand this. Whatever this... this _thing_ is that we inherited, you inherited the light. You _are_ the light. _I'm_ the dark. _I'm_ the one who betrayed Alderaan. _I'm_ the one who's spent the last five years sending countless men and women to their deaths. When I killed Jabba with my bare hands and a chain... part of me did it because I knew I had to, part of it was revenge for everything he'd done to Han, but dammit, Luke, there was a part of me that felt good when I choked the life out of that bastard. _Very_ good. That was the Dark Side, wasn't it? And if it comes down to that, if what we did together _was_ wrong, well, it _was me_ who came to you." She smiled sadly. "You walked willingly into the devil's lair, and the devil followed you out again. Maybe, just maybe, your light could cancel out my darkness. Maybe Han's inherent good nature could balance it out. But doesn't a child deserve better than a roll of those particular dice?" 

She turned her face toward the desk. "The drugs to end the pregnancy are in that drawer. After a few months, I can be permanently sterilized and never have to worry about it again." 

_"Leia."_ Luke took a deep breath and tried to put on his best Jedi Master voice. "That is _not_ how the Force works. Or Force sensitivity. Or... heredity. You see, this is why I wish you would let me teach you what I've learned about the Force. It's not all laser swords and meditation and picking things up with your mind and saying all your sentences backwards." 

"Or lying and manipulating families for twenty years so your long-range plans will fall into place," she dryly added. 

"That's a bit of an oversimplification, but, sure," he replied, nodding. "Leia, the Light and the Dark are in all of us. I should have told you this before now, but I've allowed the Dark Side to overtake me three times. I shouldn't have been ashamed to admit it, because it proves the most important thing of all." 

"_What?_ You? I don't believe you." 

"Three times," he confirmed. "It happened each time I faced Vader. The first time was in a vision on Dagobah. It was so real, Leia; I didn't know it was a vision until it was over. I gave in to hubris, thinking all I needed to defeat evil was a weapon, and I felt the Dark Side take hold of me for the first time. The second was on Bespin; I allowed my anger and rage to take over, and there was the Dark again. We both know how that came out. The last time... the last time it was fear. The greatest fear..." 

He closed his eyes, remembering how Vader had threatened to bring Leia to the Emperor if he couldn't have Luke. Desperation had seized control of his body, turning him into a senseless fighting, killing machine. Only the sight of his father laid low at his feet, his arm hacked away by Luke's own saber, had snapped him back from the brink of his blind fury. 

"I almost went completely over. I would have, in another instant," he continued, over her disbelieving looks. "Master Yoda once told me that once you cross to the Dark Side, you can never come back. _But Leia, he was wrong._ We have a choice; we _all_ have a choice." He gathered both her hands in his. "Yes, it is very likely that a child of yours would be strong in the Force. And if it should come to pass that we have made this child together, perhaps he could be stronger than both of us. But he would have the _same_ choice we have how to use that strength. And more than that, he would have _us_ to help him make it." He raised her hands to his lips, lowering his eyes. There was a long silence. 

"I still don't know if I want those other tests," she said, slowly. 

"No?" he raised his head, tilting it at a questioning angle. 

"Maybe... maybe Kenobi was right. Maybe the whole truth isn't always for the best." 

"You don't really believe that." 

"I suppose not," she sighed. "It's easier to lie to myself than it is to lie to you. That can be damned inconvenient." 

He tried not to smile. "Sorry, Princess." 

"And both you and Han deserve to know the truth, if you want to. But maybe not today?" 

"Maybe not." 

"Maybe we can just... lie here a while, and think about it." 

Blue and brown eyes met, and there was understanding. 

And so, they stretched out together on the bunk, her back to his chest, his arms around her waist, her hands over his, legs curled together, as they had so often before. And they contemplated the mysteries of the universe, both large and small. 


End file.
